So, we already knew about some of the announcements before the chancellor, the Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond MP, spoke yesterday, so much so he even made a joke about toilets and leaks. As ever there was good news and bad news for taxpayers, a full summary is on our website but here are some good news/bad news highlights:

Capital allowances – a new Structures and Buildings Allowance (SBA) for non-residential buildings on eligible construction costs on or after 29 October 2018, this will enable business to claim 2% pa on cost

The corporation tax rate, as previously announced, will drop to 17% from 2020

Bad news

Capital allowances – the writing down allowance (WDA) on special rate pools, for things such as cars with CO2 emissions of over 130g/km, reducing from 8% to 6% pa

Capital allowances – discontinued 100% allowances for energy & water efficient equipment, although you will still be able to claim AIA’s

National Living Wage (previously National Minimum Wage) for over 25’s increasing from £7.83 per hour to £8.21 (which also has an effect on the auto-enrolment pension contribution cost)

Off payroll working (IR35) currently in force for public companies will be introduced on private medium and large companies (although not until 2020) – PAYE and NIC will be deducted from the deemed employee and Employers National Insurance will be payable by the company.

Stamp Duty – First time buyers of a qualifying shared ownership in a property of £500,000 or less will get an exemption from SDLT and this is backdated to 22 November 2017 (i.e. you can claim a refund)

Stamp duty refunds – the time to make a claim for a refund on the 3% supplement on buying your new home before selling your old home, has been extended from 3 months to 12 months from the sale of your old home (although the filing deadline for SDLT returns is reduced to 14 days after the effective rate of transaction)

Capital Gains – annual exemption increased from £11,700 to £12,000 pa

Bad news

Rent a room relief – you will actually need to have shared the premises during part of the time you are claiming the relief, effectively excluding income from places like Airbnb

Entrepreneurs relief – to qualify, the minimum period is extended from 12 months to 24 months

Capital Gains – lettings relief will only apply when the property is in shared ownership with a tenant, in reality this means very few people will qualify and therefore only get private residence relief on sale of their home, however this is subject to consultation and may well change

The above is only a brief summary of the proposed changes. For a more detailed breakdown please visit our website here.

If you have any questions about the budget, or how it will impact you or your business, please contact us on 0116 242 3400 and we will be happy to help.

Applying for a mortgage always sounds like a tricky task, especially if you’re self-employed as you do not have a set and secure amount of income every year.

Previously, you could apply for a self-certified mortgage – this allowed you to disclose to your lender how much you were earning without actually providing any evidence. Unfortunately, this type of mortgage was scrapped and now all lenders require proof of income for all mortgages.

This means that if you are self-employed, you need to prove how much you earn in order to apply for a mortgage.

Lenders usually ask for the following as proof of income:

Two or three years’ worth of accounts prepared by a qualified accountant

HMRC Tax Year Summaries – that show how much income you declared to HMRC and how much tax you paid on that

Bank statements – including savings or ISA’s Proof of your deposit

Details of any debt repayments and other outgoings, including things such as childcare costs, credit purchases and pension contributions.

If you have only recently started up as self-employed, you may not have two or three years’ worth of accounts. In this situation the lender may ask for proof of future trading such as sales contracts.

Depending on whether you operate as a sole trader or a partnership the lender will assess you in different ways. Lenders favour providing mortgages to those they consider to be low risk. This usually includes people with a steady income that have a low risk of defaulting on their monthly payments. For a sole trader, lenders will usually look at the net annual profit of the business. For partnerships, they’ll look at each partner’s share of the profit.

If you have any queries on the above or would like some advice on applying for a mortgage, please feel free to contact us on 0116 242 3400.

From 1 April 2018 all privately rented properties must have a minimum energy performance rating of “E”.

This means landlords must make improvements to homes, upgrading insulation or heating systems for example, which should make them cheaper to heat.

The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020.

The Government has announced it will be unlawful to rent out a property which breaches this minimum rating, meaning properties which fall in the less efficient “F” or “G” categories will no longer be acceptable.

A civil penalty of up to £4,000 will be imposed for landlords who let homes that fall below the minimum standard.

Which properties are affected by the changes?

The new regulations apply to private, domestic rented properties in England and Wales which are let under an assured tenancy or a shorthold tenancy. The tenancy should be regulated under the Rent Acts including assured agricultural occupancy, protected and statutory tenancies under the Rent Act 1976.

The properties affected are any domestic, privately rented properties which are required by law to have an EPC or are contained within a larger unit which is required to have one. This includes houses, flats and self-contained units but isn’t applicable to bedsits. The EPC cannot be more than 10 years old.

Which properties are excluded?

Protected buildings and structures (such as those with listed status or restricted environmental regulations) are exempt if the measures needed to improve energy efficiency will alter the character or appearance of the building. In addition, temporary structures with intended use times of 2 years or less, residences used for less than 4 months of a year and buildings with floor area of less than 50 square metres are also exempt.

Are there rules about how energy efficiency is improved?

There are no regulations relating to how the energy efficiency rating E is achieved so it is up to the individual landlord what work is carried out on the property. The regulations stipulate that only cost-effective improvements should be made and it’s possible that a landlord could be exempt in some cases. For example, if a landlord can prove that they’ve taken all possible cost-effective measures to make improvements but the rating still remains below E. Or, in some cases, the landlord may be unable to obtain consent from the occupying tenant.

Are there exemptions?

Any properties which are exempt from the new regulations need to be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register. This registration has been open since October 2017. Failure to register will be seen as non-compliance with the regulations. Once a property is assessed and declared exempt this remains valid for 5 years. After that period it would need to be reassessed.

How the regulations are enforced and what are the penalties?

The regulations will be enforced by the local authority who will serve landlords with compliance notices to confirm properties either meet the required standards or have been declared as exempt. If they find a landlord has not complied with either they are able to issue a penalty fine which, cumulatively, could reach up to £5,000. A landlord can request a review of a penalty notice followed by an appeals process if they are still not satisfied with the local authority’s decision.

There are several improvements you can make to a property which will improve the energy efficient rating and many are very simple to carry to out. You could improve the energy efficiency of your property significantly by:

Replacing a non-condensing boiler with a new condensing, A rated boiler with over 90% energy efficiency.

Installing or improving insulation in walls, roof, and loft spaces, pipework etc. to prevent heat loss. You may even be able to qualify for a free insulation grant to help with the cost.

Installing solar panels and a solar energy storage system to reduce the property’s energy dependence on the National Grid

Installing double glazed windows to reduce the amount of heat escaping through poorly fitted frames or basic single glazing.

If you wish to discuss any of this further then please contact us 0116 2423400

Deadline for submitting your 2016/17 self assessment return (£100 automatic penalty if your return is late) and the balance of your 2016/17 liability together with the first payment on account for 2017/18 are also due.

This deadline is relevant to individuals who need to complete a self assessment tax return and make direct payments to HMRC in respect of their income tax, Classes 2 and 4 NI, capital gains tax and High Income Child Benefit Charge liabilities.

There is a penalty of £100 if your return is not submitted on time, even if there is no tax due or your return shows that you are due a tax refund.

The balance of any outstanding income tax, Classes 2 and 4 NI, capital gains tax and High Income Child Benefit Charge for the year ended 5th April 2017 is due for payment by 31st January 2018. Where the payment is made late interest will be charged.

The first payment on account for 2017/18 in respect of income tax and any Class 4 NI or High Income Child Benefit Charge is also due for payment by 31st January 2018.

If we have already dealt with your self assessment return on your behalf you need take no action.

If you haven’t completed your self assessment return yet please contact us, we can help. 0116 2423400 or send us an email info@torrwaterfield.co.uk

Yesterday saw a budget that focused, as expected, on housing and a stormy economic forecast. Our full summary is available on our website, but the key tax developments are summarised below.

Personal Tax Rates and Allowances

The personal allowance is currently £11,500 and will increase to £11,850 in April 2018. The higher rate threshold similarly increases from £45,000 to £46,350. Phillip Hammond reaffirmed his commitment to raise these thresholds to £12,500 and £50,000 respectively by 2020.

National Insurance for the self-employed

After the embarrassment of Mr Hammond’s U-turn earlier this year after attempting to abolish Class 2 National Insurance and increase Class 4, it was announced that in order to give sufficient time for a more popular proposal to be devised, there will be a delay of one year before any reform.

Capital Gains Tax

After unfavourable consultation, the proposal for a 30-day window between Capital Gains arising and the tax being due has been deferred until April 2020.

Research and Development

Large companies claiming relief for research and development under the RDEC scheme will see their credit increase from 11% to 12% as part of plans to help the economy grow after Brexit.

Corporation Tax

Indexation Allowance – a long standing relief for companies making capital gains will be frozen from 01 January 2018. This allowance protected companies from gains that arise as a result of inflation and as a result no relief will be available for inflation accruing after this date. This move is perhaps unsurprising, with property investors more often operating through a limited company as a result of this allowance and the increased taxation of landlords in recent budgets.

Stamp Duty

With the youth vote rocketing in the last election, the government has decided to act further on the concerns that first time buyers are struggling to get on to the property ladder. Stamp duty will be abolished immediately for first time buyers purchasing properties worth up to £300,000. Those buying their first houses in expensive areas such as London will pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000 of properties costing up to £500,000.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

The VAT registration threshold will remain at £85,000 p/a for two years from April 2018. This will come as a relief for many, as some predicted this could be lowered to nearer the EU average of £25,000.

Making Tax Digital (MTD)

As announced in July, no business will be mandated to use MTD until April 2019, and then only for VAT obligations. The scope of MTD will not be widened until April 2020 at the earliest.

The above are only the areas that I feel will be relevant to the majority of our clients, other areas and greater detail can be found on our website, click here.

You can become a landlord for many different reasons; you might not even think of yourself as one. This could be because you’ve:

inherited a property

rented out a flat to cover your mortgage payments

moved in with someone and need to rent out your house.

If you follow this link http://bit.ly/2w4rf17 it takes to the gov.uk web page for Guidance on HMRC’s Let Property Campaign.

On the page there are examples of the most common tax errors people make when renting out their property and are all part of the Let Property Campaign which aims to help landlords bring their tax affairs back in to order. These include:

Moving in with a partner and renting your property.

Inheriting a property.

Property bought as an investment.

Relocation

Divorce

Moving in to a Care Home.

Jointly owned investment property.

Property bought for a family member at university.

Armed Forces.

Tied accommodation.

If any of the above apply to you, or if you are unsure whether your circumstances are covered, you can contact HM Revenue and Customs direct or you may wish to discuss matters with us first. Please call us on 0116 2423400

HMRC’s form SA302 is a tax calculation produced when you have filed your Self-Assessment Tax Return online.

It is a calculation for a particular tax year showing your income, your tax allowances, the amount of tax you’ve already paid and what tax, if any, you still owe or which should be repaid to you.

If your Tax Return has to be amended and it affects the tax payable, HMRC will send you a revised SA302 showing the up to date position for that particular year.

If you are asked to provide evidence of your income, for example if you’re applying for a mortgage, and you have been paying through self-assessment, you are likely to be asked for an SA302 for one or more tax years. Another document you may also be asked to produce is a tax year overview. This is a simple summary or statement of the tax due and tax you’ve paid during the tax year.

If you have filed your own tax return online, you can access your HMRC account and print off both the SA302 and tax year overview as required.

HMRC have been encouraging taxpayers to obtain a copy of the ‘Tax overview’ and ‘Full Calculation’ from the online service for some time and, from 4 September 2017, they have confirmed that they will no longer send paper SA302s to agents on behalf of their clients.

There are a number of lenders that will accept the tax overview and printed calculation in place of a paper SA302 and HMRC are working on educating other lenders to increase acceptance so that, once the SA302’s are no more, mortgage advisors will be happy with these documents instead.

If you don’t know where to start getting your tax year overview or tax calculation, most accountants, including torrwaterfield, use commercial software to produce tax returns for their clients. This automatically generates a tax calculation which is roughly equivalent to a form SA302. The majority of mortgage providers have agreed with HMRC to accept this Tax Calculation and the Tax Year Overview which your accountant can print off for you.

For a complete list of mortgage providers and lenders who accept Tax Year over views please click here.

If you would like any assistance on this, then please contact the office on 0116 242 3400.